ALBERT

Description / Table of Contents: Chapter 1. Physical and Geological Oceanography --- Hydrography in the RSA during the RT/V Umitaka-Maru Cruises / J. Yoshida, M. Matsuyama, T. Senjyu, T. Ishimaru, T. Morinaga, H. Arakawa, A. Kamatani, M. Maeda, A. Otsuki, S. Hashimoto, I. Kasuga, Y. Koike, Y. Mine, Y. Kurita, A. Kitazawa, A. Noda, T. Hayashi, T. Miyazaki, and K. Takahashi / pp. 1-22 --- Vertical structure of a current and density front in the Strait of Hormuz / M. Matsuyama, Y. Kitade, T. Senjyu, Y. Koike, and T. Ishimaru / pp. 23-34 --- High salinity lens from the Strait of Hormuz / T. Senjyu, T. Ishimaru, M. Matsuyama, and Y. Koike / pp. 35-48 --- Distribution of Turbidity in the ROPME Sea Area / Y. Arakawa, T. Hirawake, and T. Morinaga / pp. 49-63 --- Mineralogy, genesis and sources of surficial sediments in the ROPME Sea Area / A. N. Al-Ghadban, A. M. Al-Dousari, A. Al-Kadi, M. Behbehani, and P. Caceres / pp. 65-88 --- Chapter 2. Chemical Oceanography --- Concentrations of bromide and chloride ions and their relationships with salinity in the central region of the ROPME Sea Area / A. Otsuki, K. Nagaoka, S. Hashimoto, R. Tsujimoto, T. Senjyu, and Y. Koike / pp. 89-98 --- Distribution of nutrient, nitrous oxide and chlorophyll a of RSA: Extremely high ratios of nitrite to nitrate in whole water column / S. Hashimoto, R. Tsujimoto, M. Maeda, T. Ishimaru, J. Yoshida, Y. Takasu, Y. Koike, Y. Mine, A. Kamatani, and A. Otsuki / pp. 99-124 --- Levels of mercury in the marine environment of the ROPME area / N. B. Al-Majed and W. A. Rajab / pp. 125-147 --- Metal concentrations in sediment samples collected during Umitaka-Maru Cruises in 1993-1994 / I. Alam, A. A. Al-Arfaj, and M. Sadiq / pp. 149-159 --- Trace metals in the finest fraction of surface sediments from the inner part of ROPME Sea Area / M. Maeda, H. Akitake, I. Kamiya, F. Shibata, and A. Kamatani / pp. 161-180 --- Chapter 3. Biological Oceanography --- Primary production in the ROPME Sea Area / T. Hirawake, K. Tobita, T. Ishimaru, H. Satoh, and T. Morinaga / pp. 181-191 --- Post-spill spatial distribution of zooplankton in the ROPME Sea Area. / F. Al-Yamani, K. Al-Rifaie, H. Al-Mutairi, and W. Ismail / pp. 193-202 --- Aspects of reproduction in the pearl oyster, Pinctada radiata (Leach). / S. A. A. Khamdan / pp. 203-214 --- Chapter 4. Marine pollution --- Distribution of n-alkanes and heterocyclic sulfur compounds in the central region of the ROPME Sea Area (Persian Gulf) / R. Tsujimoto, S. Hashimoto, and A. Otsuki / pp. 215-230 --- Distribution of organotin compounds in fish and the ratio of phenyl-tin to total organic-tin in the ROPME Sea Area / M. Watanabe, S. Hashimoto, K. Fujita, and A. Otsuki / pp. 231-244 --- Toxicity of dibenzothiophene and its distribution in the eastern coast of Japan and northwestern coast of the ROPME Sea Area / J. Koyama, and R. Kuroshima / pp. 245-256 --- Levels of trace metals and hydrocarbons in fish from the ROPME Sea Area / N. B. Al-Majed, F. Al-Safar, W. A. Rajab, M. S. Farhan, and E. Al-Ruqaab / pp. 257-279 --- Appendix: Technical reports --- Study of phytoplankton in ROPME Sea Area / M. Husain, and S. Ibrahim / pp. 281-301 --- Distribution of copepoda in the ROPME Sea Area 1994 / M. Al-Khabbaz, and A. M. Fahmi / pp. 303-318

Description / Table of Contents: MARINE CARBON CYCLE --- Global Scale --- Characterization of Ocean Productivity Using a New Physical-Biological Coupled Ocean Model / K. Nakata, T. Doi, K. Taguchi and S. Aoki / Global Environmental Change in the Ocean and on Land, / pp. 1-44 --- Natural Radiocarbon Distribution in the Deep Ocean / K. Matsumoto and R. M. Key / Global Environmental Change in the Ocean and on Land, / pp. 45-58 --- Equatorial Region --- Variability of Surface Layer CO2 Parameters in the Western and Central Equatorial Pacific / M. Ishii, S. Saito, T. Tokieda, T. Kawano, K. Matsumoto and H. Y. Inoue / Global Environmental Change in the Ocean and on Land, / pp. 59-94 --- Settling Particles Flux in Response to El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in the Equatorial Pacific / H. Kawahata and L. P. Gupta / Global Environmental Change in the Ocean and on Land, / pp. 95-108 --- Particulate Amino Acids and Biogeochemical Processes in the Equatorial Pacific Ocean during the 1999-2001 La Niña Event / L. P. Gupta and H. Kawahata / Global Environmental Change in the Ocean and on Land, / pp. 109-120 --- Floral Response of Coccolithophores to Progressive Oligotrophication in the South Equatorial Current, Pacific Ocean / K. Hagino and H. Okada / Global Environmental Change in the Ocean and on Land, / pp. 121-132 --- Coccolith Carbonate Fluxes in the Northwest Pacific Ocean / Y. Tanaka / Global Environmental Change in the Ocean and on Land, / pp. 133-146 --- Western Pacfic --- Artificial Radionuclides in the Western North Pacific: A Review / G. H. Hong, M. Baskaran and P. P. Povinec / Global Environmental Change in the Ocean and on Land, / pp. 147-172 --- Material Transport Processes on the Continental Margin in the East China Sea / M. Yamada / Global Environmental Change in the Ocean and on Land, / pp. 173-187 --- Cadmium Distribution in the Western Pacific / K. Abe / Global Environmental Change in the Ocean and on Land, / pp. 189-203 --- Ocean Environments in Response to Climatic Change --- Climate Reconstructions from Annually Banded Corals / T. Felis and J. Pätzold / Global Environmental Change in the Ocean and on Land, / pp. 205-227 --- Reef Water CO2 System and Carbon Production of Coral Reefs: Topographic Control of System-Level Performance / A. Suzuki and H. Kawahata / Global Environmental Change in the Ocean and on Land, / pp. 229-248 --- Chemistry of Benthic Foraminiferal Shells for Recording Ocean Environments: Cd/Ca, d13C and Mg/Ca / K. Tachikawa and H. Elderfield / Global Environmental Change in the Ocean and on Land, / pp. 249-263 --- Have the Tropical Pacific Ocean-Atmosphere Interactions Behaved as a Driver of Centennial- to Orbital-Scale Climate Changes? / M. Yamamoto / Global Environmental Change in the Ocean and on Land, / pp. 265-278 --- Long Term Variations of Uranium Isotopes and Radiocarbon in the Surface Seawater Recorded in Corals / Y. Yokoyama and T. M. Esat / Global Environmental Change in the Ocean and on Land, / pp. 279-309 --- TERRESTRIAL CARBON CYCLE --- A Multi-Scale Analysis of a National Terrestrial Carbon Budget and the Effects of Land-Use Change / C. M. Trotter, K. R. Tate, S. Saggar, N. A. Scott and M. A. Sutherland / Global Environmental Change in the Ocean and on Land, / pp. 311-341 --- Global Mapping of Terrestrial Primary Productivity and Light-Use Efficiency with a Process-Based Model / A. Ito and T. Oikawa / Global Environmental Change in the Ocean and on Land, / pp. 343-358 --- Carbon and Nitrogen Accumulation in a Savanna Landscape: Field and Modeling Perspectives / S. Archer, T. W. Boutton and C. R. McMurtry / Global Environmental Change in the Ocean and on Land, / pp. 359-373 --- Estimating Dynamics of CO2 Flux in Agro-Ecosystems based on Synergy of Remote Sensing and Process Modeling-A Methodological Study / Y. Inoue and A. Olioso / Global Environmental Change in the Ocean and on Land, / pp. 375-390 --- Changes in Productivity of East and South Asian Countries in the 21st Century: Regional Trends According to Climate Change / K. Okamoto, M. Yokozawa and H. Kawashima / Global Environmental Change in the Ocean and on Land, / pp. 391-399 --- A Preliminary Study on the Carbon Dynamics of China's Forest Ecosystems in the Past 20 Years / P. Gong, J. Chen and M. Xu / Global Environmental Change in the Ocean and on Land, / pp. 401-410 --- Retrieval of Forest Fire History in Far East Asia by Remote Sensing and Its Analysis with Biomass Burning Simulation and Climate Anomalies / J. Kuçera and Y. Yasuoka / Global Environmental Change in the Ocean and on Land, / pp. 411-424 --- Potential of Woody Carbon Stock Estimation Using High Spatial Resolution Imagery: A Case Study of Spruce Stands / Y. Awaya, S. Tsuyuki, E. Kodani and G. Takao / Global Environmental Change in the Ocean and on Land, / pp. 425-440 --- Multi-Temporal MODIS Data Product for Carbon Cycles Research / Z. Dafang, L. Ronggao and S. Runhe / Global Environmental Change in the Ocean and on Land, / pp. 441-451 --- Photosynthetic Characteristics of Mixed Deciduous-Broadleaf Forests from Leaf to Stand / T. Koike, S. Kitaoka, T. Ichie, T. T. Lei and M. Kitao / Global Environmental Change in the Ocean and on Land, / pp. 453-472 --- Effect of Free-Air CO2 Enrichment on Structures of Weed Communities and CO2 Exchange at the Flood-Water Surface in a Rice Paddy Field / H. Koizumi, T. Kibe, T. Nakadai, Y. Yazaki, M. Adachi, M. Inatomi, M. Kondo and T. Ohtsuka / Global Environmental Change in the Ocean and on Land, / pp. 473-485

Description / Table of Contents: Introduction / Tomotoshi Okaichi / pp. 3-5 --- Seto Inland Sea—Historical Background / Tetsuo Yanagi and Tomotoshi Okaichi / pp. 9-14 --- Biological Productivity of the Lower Trophic Levels of the Seto Inland Sea / Hiroaki Hashimoto, Toshiya Hashimoto, Osamu Matsuda, Kuninao Tada, Kyoichi Tamai, Shin-ichi Uye and Tamiji Yamamoto / pp. 17-58 --- Fisheries Production / Tatsuki Nagai and Yasuki Ogawa / pp. 61-94 --- The Preservation and Creation of Fisheries Grounds / Tetsuo Yanagi / pp. 97-119 --- Strategies for Reduction of Nutrient Loads from the Land / Masahiko Sekine and Masao Ukita / pp. 123-158 --- The Relationship between the Fishery Industry and Environmental Evaluation of the Seto Inland Sea / Hidenori Niizawa, Ken'ichi Nakagami and Kazuhisa Oba / pp. 161-185 --- Legal System and Coastal Management / Mitsuru Nakayama / pp. 189-214 --- Synthesis and Proposal / Tetsuo Yanagi and Tomotoshi Okaichi / pp. 217-219 --- Comparison of the Seto Inland Sea with Other Enclosed Seas from Around the World / Hidetaka Takeoka / pp. 223-247 --- Red Tides in the Seto Inland Sea / Tomotoshi Okaichi / pp. 251-304 --- Law Concerning Special Measures for Conservation of the Environment of the Seto Inland Sea / pp. 307-317 --- International EMECS Center International Center for the Environmental Manage ment of Enclosed Coastal Sea / pp. 321-325

Description / Table of Contents: Part I: Outline of the physical processes within mangrove systems --- Chapter 1: Introduction --- Chapter 2: Present state of mangrove studies from a physical viewpoint --- Chapter 3: Physical factors that shape mangrove environments --- Chapter 4: Hydrodynamics and physics that support the mangrove environment --- Chapter 5: Feedback processes that maintain the mangrove environment --- Chapter 6: Research technology --- Chapter 7: Modeling of mangrove systems --- Chapter 8: Future studies in the context of the preservation and utilization of mangroves

Description / Table of Contents: Chapter 1. High Resolution and Better Imaging --- MUSES-B Satellite System for VSOP / H. Hirosawa / pp. 3-9 --- Mechanical Design and Development of a Deployable Space Antenna for Japanese VLBI Space Observatory Program / M. C. Natori, T. Takano, K. Miyoshi, T. Inoue and T. Kitamura / pp. 10-20 --- Operation of the VSOP Satellite / Y. Murata / pp. 21-25 --- Ground Supporting Facilities for VSOP Observations / N. Kawaguchi, H. Kobayashi, T. Miyaji, H. Mikoshiba, A. Tojo, Z. Yamamoto and H. Hirosawa, / pp. 26-33 --- Space VLBI Simulations / D. W. Murphy, V. Yakimov, H. Kobayashi, A. R. Taylor and I. Fejes / pp. 34-38 --- Space VLBI Scheduling Studies: Techniques and Results / D. L. Meier / pp. 39-43 --- An Affordable Advanced Space VLBI Mission / J. S. Ulvestad, D. L. Meier, D. W. Murphy, R. A. Preston and J. G. Smith / pp. 44-48 --- Space VLBI Experiments Using ETS-VI / T. lwata, H. Kiuchi, M. Imae, M. Sekido and S. Hama / pp. 49-53 --- Space VLBI Polarization Observations / D. C. Gabuzda and A. R. Taylor / pp. 54-58 --- Space VLBI User Assistance Software / I. Fejes, D. W. Murphy, A. R. Taylor, V. Yakimov and G. Young / pp. 59-69 --- mm VLBI / L. B. Bååth / pp. 70-74 --- "High Sensitivity" VLBI at 86 GHz: First Fringes with the 100 m Radio Telescope at Effelsberg / K. J. Standke, D. A. Graham, T. P. Krichbaum, A. Witzel, C. J. Schalinski, A. E. E. Rogers, R. Booth, L. B. Bååth / pp. 75-85 --- Burst Mode System toward mJy Level mm-VLBI / M. Inoue, K. Matsumoto and N. Kawaguchi / pp. 86-88 --- 86 GHz Global VLBI Progress Report / S. Doeleman, A. E. E. Rogers, L. Bååth, C. Schalinski, T. Krichbaum, M. Inoue, A. Zensus, S. Padin, J. Carlstrom, D. Graham, C. Predmore, J. Moran, D. Backer, M. Wright, N. Whyborn, L. Nyman, K. Standke, M. Lerner and S. Kameno / pp. 89-92 --- Global 3- and 7-mm VLBI Observations of OJ287 / C. E. Tateyama and M. Inoue / pp. 93-100 --- VLBI Observations of the 22 GHz H2 0Maser in Late Type Stars / H. Takaba, T. lwata, M. Miyoshi, N. Ukita, S. Kameno and K. Matsumoto / pp. 101-104 --- The H2 0 Super Maser Outburst Region in the Orion Nebula / L. I. Matveyenko and P. J. Diamond / pp. 105-109 --- The Cosmological Application of the VLBI Technique at Ultimate Resolutions / L. I. Gurvits / pp. 110-114 --- First VLBI Images of Supernova 1993J in the Galaxy M81 / N. Bartel, M. F. Bietenholz, M. P. Rupen, J. E. Conway, A. J. Beasley, R. A. Sramek, J. D. Romney, M. A. Titus, D. A. Graham, V. I. Altunin, D. L. Jones, A. Rius, T. Venturi, G. Umana, R. L. Francis, M. L. McCall, M. G. Richer, C. C. Stevenson, K. W. Weiler, S. D. Van Dyk, N. Panagia, W. H. Cannon, J. Popelar and R. J. Davis / pp. 115-122 --- The Visibility-Spectrum Relation among Radio Loud AGNs / S. Kameno, M. Inoue, K. Matsumoto, H. Takaba, T. lwata, R. Nan and R. T. Schilizzi / pp. 123-129 --- Identification of the Superluminal Motion in Faint Parsec-Scale Jet of 3C390.3 / S. Wu, E. Preuss, W. Alef, K. I. Kellermann and Y. Qiu / pp. 130-136 --- A VLBI Search for Compact Nonthermal Emission from the Herbig Be Star MWC 297 / S. L. Skinner and R. B. Phillips / pp. 137-140 --- Snapshot VLBI Mapping of Variable Extragalactic Sources at 327 MHz / L. I. Gurvits, W. Alef, D. R. Altschuler, J. E. Carson, B. Dennison, D. Graham and A. S. Trotter / pp. 141-145 --- AO 0235+164151;A "Heretic" BL Lac / H. S. Chu, L. B. Bååth, F. T. Rantakyrö, R. S. Booth, R. E. Spencer and F. J. Zhang / pp. 146-155 --- Chapter 2. Antenna and Networks --- The New Receiver in the S, X, K Bands for the VLB1 Medicina Dish / A. Orfei, G. Maccaferri, S. Mariotti, M. Morsiani, G. P. Zacchiroli and G. Tomassetti / pp. 159-164 --- The Upgrade Proposal for the VLBI Medicina Antenna / A. Orfei, G. Maccaferri, S. Mariotti, M. Morsiani and G. P. Zacchiroli / pp. 165-170 --- VLBI at the Kyushu Tokai University / M. Fujishita, K. Miyasato, T. Yoshiyama and Y. Matsumae / pp. 171-175 --- VLBI Activities at the Matera Space Geodesy Center / R. Lanotte, G. Bianco, M. Fermi and L. Garramone / pp. 176-184 --- The Mizusawa 10-m Antenna and Its VLBI Observation System / K. M. Shibata, Y. Asaki, I. Asari, Y. Fukuzaki, T. Hara, K. Horiai, K. lwadate, 0. Kameya, N. Kawano, S. Kuji, S. Manabe, S. Sakai, T. Sasao, K. Sato, Y. Tamura and S. Tsuruta / pp. 185-190 --- The 6 m VLBI Telescope at Kagoshima, Japan / T. Omodaka, M. Morimoto, N. Kawaguchi, T. Miyaji, S. Yasuda, T. Suzuyama, T. Kitagawa, T. Miyazaki, L. Furuya, T. Jike, K. Miyazawa, H. Mikoshiba, S. Kuji, 0. Kameya and Kagoshima VLBI Group / pp. 191-195 --- Radio Telescopes and VLBI Facilities in Brazil / P. Kaufmann and C. E. Tateyama / pp. 196-199 --- Cryogenic Cooled Receivers for the QUASAR Network / A. V. lpatov, I. A. lpatova and V. V. Mardyshkin / pp. 200-204 --- The Australian Long Baseline Array—Status Report / A. Tzioumis, W. Wilson and R. Ferris / pp. 205-210 --- The Asia-Pacific Telescope—APT / A. Tzioumis / pp. 211-217 --- Present Status and Future Development on VLBI Facilities in China / Ye S. and Oian Z. / pp. 218-220 --- Chapter 3. The New Trends in Geodesy and Astrometry --- Plate Dynamics near Boundaries: What Governs the Transition between Episodic and Continuous Motions? / K. Heki / pp. 223-228 --- Improved Global Atmospheric Mapping Functions for VLBI and GPS / A. Niell / pp. 229-231 --- Method of Differential Fringe Phase Tracking / N. Kawano, T. Sasao, T. Hara, S. Kuji, 0. Kameya, K. Sato, K. lwadate and Y. Asaki / pp. 232-236 --- The Chinese National Space Geodetic Network / J. Cai / pp. 237-240 --- Satellite Position Determination by Difference of Range (DOR) Measurements / I. Kardos / pp. 241-250 --- Recent Geodetic VLBI Results from Shanghai Observatory / Ye S., Qian Z., Chen G. and Zhou, R. / pp. 251-253 --- An Antennacluster-Antennacluster VLBI Project VERA / T. Sasao, N. Kawano, T. Hara, S. Kuji, K. Shibata, K. lwadate, K. Sato, 0. Kameya, S. Tsuruta, K. Asari, Y. Tamura, K. Horiai, K. Sato, H. Hanada, T. Tsubokawa, K. Yokoyama, S. Manabe and S. Sakai / pp. 254-258 --- An Astronomical Observational Plan Using the VERA / O. Kameya, T. Sasao, N. Kawano and K. M. Shibata / pp. 259-263 --- Estimated Errors in the Antennacluster-Antennacluster VLBI / T. Hara, T. Sasao, K. Sato, N. Kawano and O. Kameya / pp. 264-271 --- Sub-Milliarcsecond Astrometry with Phase-Referenced VLBI / D. L. Jones, J.-F. Lestrade, R. A. Preston and R. B. Phillips / pp. 272-276 --- Selenodesy by Using Differential VLBI Observations of Artificial Radio Sources on the Moon / H. Hanada, M. Ooe, N. Kawano, K. lwadate, S. Kuji, K. Sato, S. Tsuruta, T. Sasao, 0. Kameya, T. Hara, N. Kawaguchi, M. Fujishita, M. Morimoto, S. Yasuda, H. Mizutani and A. Fujimura / pp. 277-281 --- Gravitational Lens Effect and Measurement of Stellar Mass / M. Hosokawa, K. Ohnishi, T. Fukushima and M. Takeuti / pp. 282-286 --- Evidence for Source Structure Effects Caused by the Quasar 3C273 in Geodetic VLBI Data / P. Charlot / pp. 287-294 --- Astronomical Periods in the Solar System / Y. Macyama / pp. 295-305 --- Pulsar VLBI Experiment Using Kashima-Usuda Baseline / M. Sekido, S. Hama, H. Kiuchi, Y. Hanado, Y. Takahashi, M. Imae, K. Fujisawa and H. Hirabayashi / pp. 306-312 --- The Celestial Reference System and Frame of the International Earth Rotation Service / E. F. Arias / pp. 313-315 --- Quasi Simultaneous Observations in the Arclength Method of Reduction of Astrometric VLBI Data / M. S. De Biasi, E. F. Arias and J.-F. Lestrade / pp. 316-318 --- Few-Hundred Microarcsecond VLBI Astrometry: Applications and Reduction of Limiting Error Sources / S. T. Lowe and R. N. Treuhaft / pp. 319-323 --- Chapter 4. Recorders and Correlators --- A New Advanced One-Unit VLBI Correlator (NAOCO) / K. Shibata, T. Sasao, N. Kawaguchi, Y. Tamura, S. Kameno, M. Miyoshi, K. Asari, S. Manabe, T. Hara, S. Kuji, K. Sato, T. Miyaji, K. Matsumoto, Y. Asaki, S. Yasuda and S. Nakamura / pp. 327-331 --- A Programmable VLBI Correlator Using Parallel Computing / G. Petit and T. Fayard / pp. 332-337 --- Status of the New K-4 System / H. Kiuchi, S. Hama, J. Amagai, Y. Hanado, A. Kaneko and M. Imae / pp. 338-344 --- The S2 Frequency Agile Data Acquisition Terminal / W. T. Petrachenko, P. Mathieu, J. Popelar, W. H. Cannon, H. Tan and R. D. Wietfeldt / pp. 345-350 --- A Chipset for a MKII Style Correlator / G. Tuccari / pp. 351-359 --- Keeping Compatibility in International VLBI Systems / T. Yoshino, S. Hama and N. Kawaguchi / pp. 360-364 --- Development of the Burst Mode VLBI / K. Matsumoto and N. Kawaguchi / pp. 365-370 --- The K4 Correlator / S. Hama, H. Kiuchi, M. Sekido and M. Imae / pp. 371-376 --- Notes on High Data Rate Recording / J. Takayama / pp. 377-380

Description / Table of Contents: The 14th International Symposium for the Advancement of Boundary Layer Remote Sensing (ISARS 2008) addresses acoustical, optical and microwave techniques to probe the lower part of the atmosphere. The symposium focuses on the physical basis of remote sensing techniques and new instruments. A theme for the conference is also various applications of remote sensing, this year with special emphasis on wind energy. ISARS is an informal association of scientists from all over the world which organizes a symposium every second year. While the abbreviation ISARS has remained unchanged since the start in Calgary 1981, the words have changed from International Symposium on Acoustic Remote Sensing and Associated Techniques of the Atmosphere and Oceans because other techniques than the acoustic have become important for boundary layer remote sensing. Specifically lasers for remote wind sensing are developing rapidly. By the end of each symposium the chairman of the next has been elected. So far the symposia have taken place in different countries each time with different chairs. The scientific organizing committee, which consists mainly of chair persons of previous symposia, maintains the continuity of themes and of the organization in general. After the last symposium held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, many of the papers appeared in revised and improved form in a special issue of Meteorologische Zeitschrift. A similar special issue is also planned to follow ISARS 2008. I wish to express my gratitude to the scientific organizing committee for valuable advice and to the local organizing committee for all their effort with the conference papers and the conference itself. Jakob Mann, Conference Chair

Description / Table of Contents: Caldera-formation is one of the most awe-inspiring and powerful displays of nature's force. Resultant deposits may cover vast areas and significantly alter the immediate topography. Post-collapse activity may include resurgence, unrest, intra-caldera volcanism and potentially the start of a new magmatic cycle, perhaps eventually leading to renewed collapse. Since volcanoes and their eruptions are the surface manifestation of magmatic processes, calderas provide key insights into the generation and evolution of large-volume silicic magma bodies in the Earth's crust. Despite their potentially ferocious nature, calderas play a crucial role in modern society's life. Collapse calderas host essential economic deposits and supply power for many via the exploitation of geothermal reservoirs, and thus receive considerable scientific, economic and industrial attention. Calderas also attract millions of visitors world-wide with their spectacular scenic displays. To build on the outcomes of the 2005 calderas workshop in Tenerife (Spain) and to assess the most recent advances on caldera research, a follow-up meeting was proposed to be held in Mexico in 2008. This abstract volume presents contributions to the 2nd Calderas Workshop held at Hotel Misión La Muralla, Querétaro, Mexico, 19–25 October 2008. The title of the workshop `Reconstructing the evolution of collapse calderas: Magma storage, mobilisation and eruption' set the theme for five days of presentations and discussions, both at the venue as well as during visits to the surrounding calderas of Amealco, Amazcala and Huichapan. The multi-disciplinary workshop was attended by more than 40 scientist from North, Central and South America, Europe, Australia and Asia. Contributions covered five thematic topics: geology, geochemistry/petrology, structural analysis/modelling, geophysics, and hazards...

Description / Table of Contents: The Beyond Kyoto conference in Aarhus March 2009 was organised in collaboration with other knowledge institutions, businesses and authorities. It brought together leading scientists, policy-makers, authorities, intergovernmental organisations, NGO's, business stakeholders and business organisations. The conference was a joint interdisciplinary project involving many academic areas and disciplines. These conference proceedings are organised in central and recurring themes that cut across many debates on climate change, the climatic challenges as well as the solutions. In the front there is a short presentation of the conference concept. Part I of the proceedings focuses on issues related to the society – covering climate policy, law, market based instruments, financial structure, behaviour and consumption, public participation, media communication and response from indigenous peoples etc. Part II of the proceedings concerns the scientific knowledge base on climate related issues – covering climate change processes per se, the potential impacts of projected climate change on biodiversity and adaptation possibilities, the interplay between climate, agriculture and biodiversity, emissions, agricultural systems, increasing pressure on the functioning of agriculture and natural areas, vulnerability to extreme weather events and risks in respect to sea-level rise etc...

Description / Table of Contents: Reconstructing past climate and past ocean circulation demands the highest possible precision and accuracy which urges the scientific community to look at different sediment records such as the ones from coastal zones to deep-sea with a more complete set of technical and methodological tools. However, the information given by each tool varies in precision, accuracy and in significance according to their environmental settings. It is therefore essential to compare tools. With that in mind, and as part of the International year of Planet Earth, a workshop entitled `From deep-sea to coastal zones: Methods and Techniques for studying palaeoenvironments' took place in Faro (Portugal), from 25–29 February 2008 in order to: present several methods and techniques that can be used for studying sediments from deep-sea to coastal zones, namely for reconstructing palaeoenvironments in order to document past climatic changes and short to long-term environmental processes; allow cross experience between different fields and specialties, either from deep-sea to coastal zones or from micropaleontology to geochemistry; give the opportunity to students from different universities and countries to attend the workshop; publish a special volume on the presented methods and techniques during the workshop. The workshop was organized in four non-parallel sessions dealing with the use of micropaleontology, isotopes, biogeochemistry and sedimentology, as tools for palaeoenvironmental studies. The present IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science proceedings reflect this organization and papers are published in each theme. The papers are either short reviews or case studies and are highlighted below. The remains of microorganisms found in sediments are the main proxies used in micropaleontological studies. However, the link between fossilized remains and their living origin is not easy to reconstruct only based on the geologic/sedimentary record. Accordingly, Barbosa presents a review of the actual knowledge of living phytoplankton dynamics and the processes, or environmental conditions, which could contribute to the production of fossilized biogenic remains. In the next paper, de Vernal presents a review, based on several case studies, on how palynological fossils observed in sediments are used in tracing biogenic fluxes, characterizing sedimentary environments, or even reconstructing hydrographical conditions and productivity. The two other papers presented in the micropaleontological proxy section are case studies on the use of dinoflagellates (Rochon) and calcareous plankton remains (Guerreiro et al), respectively, to better understand their local or regional environmental living characteristics ant therefore their specific interpretation for palaeoenvironmental reconstruction at a regional scale. Isotopic proxies can be used either as provenance tracers or as chronometers of different processes. Once again, each study can provide a very specific framework of the proxies' use and it is very important to know and evaluate the limits of these tools in each environment and/or type of analyzed material. Accordingly, the two first articles deal with the study of organic carbon either by carbon and oxygen stable isotopes (Hélie) or by radiocarbon (Mollhenhauer and Rethemeyer) analysis. The two other articles in this section deal with the use of radioisotopes. Ghaleb reviews the methods for measuring short-lived radiosisotopes in sediments, giving examples of their use for estimating recent sedimentary accumulation rates; whereas Hillaire-Marcel reviews the potential use of U-series isotopes as radiochronometers in biogenic carbonates. Geochemistry groups more than one field of expertise. However, in the present section, inorganic geochemistry is not treated and both articles present work on a very specific, and at the same time very complex, compound of the organic matter realm: black carbon. As such, Veilleux et al present a density fractionation method for isolating the small quantities of soot-like and graphitic material usually found in natural samples, whereas González-Vila et al. illustrate the potential of the combined use of analytical pyrolysis and solid state 13C NMR to determine the presence of black carbon and to characterize the refractory organic matter in marine sediments from the Gulf of Cadiz (Spain). In the last section, two papers are presented and discuss sedimentological proxies. In their paper, using diffuse spectral reflectance data, Veiga-Pires and Mestre try to determine if `twinned cores' (or paired cores) can be used as duplicate records to increase the volume of sediments collected in the field, whereas Drago et al discuss the use of fish remains in sediments for the reconstruction of paleoproductivity. Each of the above papers benefited from the constructive comments of at least two reviewers and we wish to sincerely thank the reviewers for their timely evaluation. We also thank the participants, volunteers and organizers of the workshop for their implication, making this first workshop on Methods and Techniques for studying palaeoenvironments (METECH) a success. The workshop and this proceeding would not have been possible without the financial and logistical support of GEOTOP, CIMA, the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FACC07/1/1315) and IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science...

Description / Table of Contents: This volume of IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science presents a selection of papers that were given at the WMO/GEO Expert Meeting on an International Sand and Dust Storm Warning System hosted by the Barcelona Supercomputing Center – Centro Nacional de Supercomputación in Barcelona (Spain) on 7-9 November 2007 (http://www.bsc.es/wmo). A sand and dust storm (SDS) is a meteorological phenomenon common in arid and semi-arid regions and arises when a gust front passes or when the wind force exceeds the threshold value where loose sand and dust are removed from the dry surface. After aeolian uptake, SDS reduce visibility to a few meters in and near source regions, and dust plumes are transported over distances as long as thousands of kilometres. Aeolian dust is unique among aerosol phenomena: (1) with the possible exception of sea-salt aerosol, it is globally the most abundant of all aerosol species, (2) it appears as the dominating component of atmospheric aerosol over large areas of the Earth, (3) it represents a serious hazard for life, health, property, environment and economy (occasionally reaching the grade of disaster or catastrophic event) and (4) its influence, impacts, complex interactions and feedbacks within the Earth System span a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. From a political and societal point of view, the concern for SDS and the need for international cooperation were reflected after a survey conducted in 2005 by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in which more than forty WMO Member countries expressed their interest for creating or improving capacities for SDS warning advisory and assessment. In this context, recent major advances in research – including, for example, the development and implementation of advanced observing systems, the theoretical understanding of the mechanisms responsible for sand and dust storm generation and the development of global and regional dust models – represent the basis for developing applications focusing on societal benefit and risk reduction. However, at present there are interdisciplinary research challenges to overwhelm current uncertainties in order to reach full potential. Furthermore, the community of practice for SDS observations, forecasts and analyses is mainly scientifically based and rather disconnected from potential users. This requires the development of interfaces with operational communities at international and national levels, strongly focusing on the needs of people and factors at risk ... The general objective of the WMO/GEO Expert Meeting on an International Sand and Dust Storm Warning System was to discuss and recommend actions needed to develop a global routine SDS-WAS based on integrating numerical SDS prediction and observing systems, and on establishing effective cooperation between data producers and user communities in order to provide SDS-WAS products capable of contributing to the reduction of risks from SDS. The specific objectives were: to identify, present and suggest future real-time observations for forecast verification and dust surveillance: satellite, ground-based remote sensing (passive and active) and in-situ monitoring; to present ongoing forecasting activities; to discuss and identify user needs: health, air quality, air transport operations, ocean, and others; to identify and discuss dust research issues relevant for operational forecast applications; to present the concept of SDS-WAS and Regional Centers...